By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
Bauchi State Accountability Mechanism for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (BaSAM) has given itself a pass mark after applying SLAMS Accountability Capacity Assessment Tool to determine, the status quo of the Coalition.

The grading of the performance, under the following four domains that includes: Pre-Implementation, Implementation, Institutionalization and Transformation, was reached over the weekend at a One Day Accountability Tool Assessment Meeting, held at Chartwell Hotel Conference Hall Bauchi.

The overall grading of the Coalition stood of 81 percent, which prompted members to unanimously call for more commitment from Coalition to enable it score 100% next year.
After hours of gruelling brainstorming sessions and exhaustive deliberations using the accountability tool assessment document that Evidence For Action (E4A – MamaYe) supported BaSAM/The Coalition with as guidelines, participants graded the Coalition as follows: Pre-implementation 93 percent, Implementation 81 percent, Institutionalization 81 percent and Transformation was graded 67 percent accordingly.

In a closing remark after the meeting, the Co-chair CSOs Mr. Abu Yusuf John charged members of the coalition to redouble their commitment in the year 2022 so that “BaSAM could become a force to reckon with” in issues around MNCH in Bauchi State.
Abu John also urged members to put their thinking caps and come up with innovative ideas on advocacy that could further improve MNCH services in the state.

“We don’t have to always wait for MamaYe or the Champions to prompt us into carrying out activities. Every member of the Coalition can come up with ideas that could add value to our advocacy campaigns for continues improvement of MNCH services in Bauchi State”, said Abu.
He also disclosed that going forward BaSAM will reach out to influential members of the Community to seek for support to enhance the activities of the Coalition, stressing that “this is aside our own internal arrangements of raising funds through monthly dues contributions and forfeiture of certain percentages of earned allowances from all BaSAM related activities”.

Also speaking, the State Advisor of MamaYe Program, Khadijah Abdulwahab Katagum commended the resilience demonstrated by the members and thoroughness in the assessment, urging BaSAM to be more committed towards ensuring the sustainability of the Coalition.
She reiterated the resolve of Options E4A /MamaYe Program in providing technical assistance to BaSAM whenever the need arises.

A brief sampling of the participant’s perception on the overall exercise revealed that Coalition valued the process and looks forward to breaking it further to individual self-assessment of its members.
Our correspondent reports that BaSAM is a Coalition of members drawn from government health MDAs, Civil Society Organizations and the Media, whose main objective is to use evidence-based information to advocate for improved maternal and child health in Bauchi State.
